Monday, November 05, 2007

Wife in the Fast Lane, Karen Quinn

You probably know author Karen Quinnfrom her fantastic debut novel, The Ivy Chronicles. Now Karen brings us Wife in the Fast Lane, a story of former Olympic gold medalist, Christy Hayes, a woman who has it all. Jetsetting around the world, running a multi million dollar company and marrying a successful, gorgeous businessman is all in a days work for Christy.

Her charmed life gets messy when she "inherits" eleven year old Renata, a precocious child who is left in Christy's care after the child's grandmother passes away. Now Christy must juggle her new husband, corporation and all of life's other duties while trying to schedule time to be a mother to Renata. But you just can't hand off responsibilities and treat your child like a business! Speaking of business, Christy's company Baby G is not doing well and to complicate everything, Christy's husband wants nothing to do with Renata. Everything gets worse and worse for Christy but the story has a happy ending. With the authors sense of humor, you will keep reading to find out how the unsinkable Christy will manage all the curveballs life throws at her.

A former Olympic athlete, wealthy business woman, married to a very successful and handsome man, the character of Christy is far from average. Would the story have worked if she was a checker at the local grocery store married to a handyman?

It probably would have worked because every woman is juggling more than she can handle, no matter what her status in life, and that is the theme of Wife in the Fast Lane. But it's more fun to have Christy married to a wealthy CEO because they get to hop on private jets and travel to exotic locations and make love in the back of a limo on top of a luscious mink coat.

I really enjoyed The Ivy Chronicles and know that you have a movie deal, congratulations! I read that none other than the amazing Catherine Zeta Jones is attached. What do you think of her as the lead role? Have the two of you become BFF's yet?

Hahahah! No, we're not best friends yet, but I'd gladly kick off my current BFF if CZJ would consent to take her place (just kidding). I think Catherine Zeta Jones is a wonderful comedic actress who would make a hysterically funny Ivy.

Her (Catherine's) daughter and I were born at the same hospital (although about 30 years apart) in Ridgewood, New Jersey. I feel that really bonds us together.

You two are practically sisters!

I have cruised many times and read on your blog that you like to cruise too . I want to hear about the Mediterranean cruise you went on! Did you enjoy it? Did you gain a few pounds with the fabulous food? What did you see that will remain in your memory forever?

I adore cruising. To write Holly Would Dream I was forced to take two Mediterranean cruises for research purposes. What can I say? I'm a stickler for accuracy. We were on the Crystal Symphony the first time and then the Silver Whisper the second time. Both were absolutely amazing. I love cruises because the ship becomes a Peyton Place and all the passengers start gossiping about each other. I've seen some wild things happen between passengers on cruise ships, let me tell you.

I put some of the craziest things I witnessed in the new book. Anyway, I loved the cruises and gained weight on both, but it was worth it. They are so much fun because you get to see so many places without having to pack and unpack. I especially like European cruises.

Do you ever take a person from in real life and turn them into a character in your book?

Absolutely. The Ivy Chronicles is based on a business I had helping NYC families get their children into the best schools. The clients in the book were based on real clients we had, but I'd combine two or three together so no one recognized herself. Ivy was based on me, except I didn't catch my husband with another woman and I'm not as unethical as she is.

There was a character in Ivy based on a particular client I had. He was the client from hell and lived to torture me. When I wrote the book, I used his real name throughout because I knew what bad thing he would do at every opportunity. Then I changed his name at the end. After the book came out, he called me and said that he had read the book, but wanted to know why I didn't include him in it. The wicked don't recognize themselves.

What kind of music will I find on your ipod (assuming you have one) or cd player? What song instantly puts you in a good mood?

I have thousands of songs on my ipod. I especially like songs that remind me of growing up - Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Carole King. But I like a lot of today's music too. I have two teenagers so they keep me up to date.

What is the last book you read?

Right now I'm reading Ken Follett's A World Without End. His book, Pillars of the Earth is one of my favorite books of all time. This is the follow up. It's wonderful. I'm on page 520 and there are over 1,000 pages. I've read this in about 3 days.

If you are home all day, do you turn on the television for Jerry Springer, soap operas, Rachael Ray or Oprah?

I wish I had time for that, but I don't.

Who are your favorite movie stars? Do you ever get star struck if you happen to see a famous person on the street?

I love stars from the 50's - Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Cary Grant. I see stars a lot in NYC. I'll look at them and act like it's no big deal, but inside, I'm squealing like a teenager at a Beatles concert.

Ten years ago, what did you think you would be doing in 2007? Has real life exceeded your dreams? What could make it even better?

In 1997, I had no idea I'd be writing books now. I couldn't have imagined it. So yes, life has exceeded my dreams. Ivy has been optioned as a movie. I'd love to see my other books optioned as movies. I can't imagine what it must feel like to see a book you have written played out on the silver screen. It must be an awesome feeling.